Melody Gardot made her public debut aged 24 with My One and Only Thrill in 2009, released on Verve Records. Many thought she’d pursue the glamourous, sophisticated and mysterious image conveyed by this record and forge a music career as a “jazz singer”.  However, just a quick glance at her eclectic discography proves that this singer-songwriter has done anything but, using each new release as an opportunity to reinvent herself and reveal a new part of her personality. After returning to her soul-rock roots on Currency of Man, (which celebrates the music of her native Philadelphia), and the barque hybridisation of The Absence (which borrows its rhythms and orchestral sounds from the various countries she’s spent time in over the last few years, such as Argentina and Portugal), Melody Gardot’s Entre eux deux is an intimate and romantic record that reflects on her relationship with France—more specifically with Paris—which she’s called home since 2016 (at least for most of the year). Conceived, composed and recorded in close collaboration with French pianist and composer Philippe Powell (son of the great Brazilian musician Baden Powell), Entre eux deux makes the most of the emotional proximity afforded by the duet format. It utilises a whole range of nuanced emotions and forms by using a repertoire that mixes legendary French songs (such as Francis Lai and Pierre Barouh’s masterpiece, Plus fort que nous), Brazilian classics (Samba Em Preludio by Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes) and original compositions that are effortlessly sung both in English and in French. The whole album is enhanced by the scenographic sound field created by the intentionally impressionistic piano harmonies, which forge an incredibly natural link between Bill Evans, Claude Debussy and the world of bossa nova. Melody Gardot’s deep and sensual voice resonates with great sophistication and sensitivity, exploring the mysteries of love songs through consistently beautiful melodies imbued with ineffable nostalgia. She plays into a few stereotypes (crazy love, Paris romance) in order to create an ironic sense of distance (listen to the lyrics of A la Tour Eiffel and Fleurs du dimanche, which are subtly disenchanted). Melody Gardot has never seemed more in control of her art than she does in this intimate record. © Stéphane Ollivier/Qobuz

Melody Gardot made her public debut aged 24 with My One and Only Thrill in 2009, released on Verve Records. Many thought she’d pursue the glamourous, sophisticated and mysterious image conveyed by this record and forge a music career as a “jazz singer”.  However, just a quick glance at her eclectic discography proves that this singer-songwriter has done anything but, using each new release as an opportunity to reinvent herself and reveal a new part of her personality. After returning to her soul-rock roots on Currency of Man, (which celebrates the music of her native Philadelphia), and the barque hybridisation of The Absence (which borrows its rhythms and orchestral sounds from the various countries she’s spent time in over the last few years, such as Argentina and Portugal), Melody Gardot’s Entre eux deux is an intimate and romantic record that reflects on her relationship with France—more specifically with Paris—which she’s called home since 2016 (at least for most of the year). Conceived, composed and recorded in close collaboration with French pianist and composer Philippe Powell (son of the great Brazilian musician Baden Powell), Entre eux deux makes the most of the emotional proximity afforded by the duet format. It utilises a whole range of nuanced emotions and forms by using a repertoire that mixes legendary French songs (such as Francis Lai and Pierre Barouh’s masterpiece, Plus fort que nous), Brazilian classics (Samba Em Preludio by Baden Powell and Vinicius de Moraes) and original compositions that are effortlessly sung both in English and in French. The whole album is enhanced by the scenographic sound field created by the intentionally impressionistic piano harmonies, which forge an incredibly natural link between Bill Evans, Claude Debussy and the world of bossa nova. Melody Gardot’s deep and sensual voice resonates with great sophistication and sensitivity, exploring the mysteries of love songs through consistently beautiful melodies imbued with ineffable nostalgia. She plays into a few stereotypes (crazy love, Paris romance) in order to create an ironic sense of distance (listen to the lyrics of A la Tour Eiffel and Fleurs du dimanche, which are subtly disenchanted). Melody Gardot has never seemed more in control of her art than she does in this intimate record. © Stéphane Ollivier/Qobuz

Download not available

With these recordings which mark the launch of the Stradivari collection, discover the unique instruments lovingly preserved at the Philharmonie de Paris's Museum of Music: the finest examples of the art of instrument-making which, like the iconic harpsichord crafted in 1652 by Ioannes Couchet, are given a new life thanks to the skill and commitment of its keen conservators. When this 'national treasure' is entrusted into the hands of an expert like Christophe Rousset, the magic is evident. As the sumptuous sonority of Louis Couperin's music is revealed, poetry meets fantasy.

André Cardinal Destouches (1672-1749) is virtually unknown today, but he was the preeminent composer of French opera in the half century between the end of Lully's career and the beginning of Rameau's. On the basis of this fine recording of Callirhoé, considered one of his most important operas, the neglect is difficult to understand. Its strength lies not so much in its originality -- it basically develops the conventions established by Lully -- but in the music's ability to illuminate the drama. Destouches was clearly a master of music for the theater; his scenes build with power and inexorability, and his dramatic confrontations, in particular, are vividly expressed. The conclusion of the second act, for example, depicting the priests of Bacchus going on a rampage, has a wildness and energy one usually associates not so much with the Baroque as with the heat of the Romantic era. The starkness of the opera's finale, which abruptly ends with a character's suicide, is brilliant theater, but entirely out of character with the conventions of the time, which would have required a tidy denouement, and most likely, the intervention of a deity. The first, 1712 version of Callirhoé, in fact, had just such an ending, but the composer revised the opera extensively for revivals in 1731 and 1743, and wisely rethought the finale, hugely increasing its effectiveness. Destouches' vocal writing is expressive and gratifyingly lyrical, and even his recitatives have emotional power. His orchestration is notably varied and colorful. The recording is the result of the commitment and passion of Hervé Niquet, director of Le Concert Spirituel, which he leads in this outstanding performance. The orchestra and chorus perform with energy and finesse, and the climaxes are thrillingly urgent. The soloists, none of whom are international stars, sound like they ought to be, singing with unfailing purity, idiomatic security, and dramatic intensity. Glossa's exemplary sound is full, warm, and spacious, with excellent balance. Callirhoé should be of strong interest to any fan of Baroque opera, and a reminder of the wealth of strong repertoire that has yet to achieve broad exposure. © TiVo

Download not available

Download not available